You'll See Four Initiatives on Your Ballot This Fall

When you get your ballot this October, it will be longer than you may be expecting. In addition to the candidates for federal, state, and local offices, you'll see four initiatives on your ballot. Multimillionaire hedge fund manager Brian Heywood paid over $6 million to qualify these harmful, misleading initiatives for the ballot in a brazen attempt to buy tax cuts for himself and his friends at the expense of everyday Washingtonians. Here's what you need to know:

• I-2109 would repeal the capital gains tax, a 7% excise tax on stock market profits greater than $250,000. In its first year, the capital gains tax raised $900 million in yearly funding for school construction, childcare, early learning, and K-12 education in our state. Only 0.2% of Washingtonians pay this tax, but the revenue it generates benefits children, parents, and communities across the state. 
• I-2117 would repeal the Climate Commitment Act, which sets a cap on total carbon emissions in our state and fines those who pollute egregiously. The revenue from the Climate Commitment Act funds public transit, wildfire prevention, weatherization and rebates on energy efficient appliances to help families make their homes more energy efficient, air pollution mitigation, and more. This funding helps our state switch to lower-cost, more sustainable infrastructure, providing well-paying jobs to many across the state in the process. 
• I-2124 would eliminate funding for WA Cares, a program that provides guaranteed, affordable access to long-term care. 70% of us will require long-term care as we age, and WA Cares provides guaranteed, affordable home care, access to residential treatment, meal support, and more to those who need it. 
• I-2066 would repeal energy efficiency programs and standards that save Washingtonians money on their energy bills and ensure that new buildings are being built to keep our state on the path to clean energy and reduce harmful pollution. This initiative tries to repeal a nonexistent ban on natural gas but would actually raise energy costs for Washingtonians and threaten public health protections against air pollution. 

The passage of any of these initiatives would be devastating to the overwhelming majority of residents in our state, who benefit from education, childcare, climate protections, transportation infrastructure, long-term care, and more. These initiatives would cut costs for our state’s wealthiest few and directly harm everyone else. 

This November, vote NO on all four initiatives to protect funding for education, climate protection and sustainable infrastructure, and access to long-term care.

Statewide Poverty Action Network
1501 N 45th Street
Seattle, WA 98103
United States

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